Misplaced Pages

#637362

87-739: The Ghassanids , also known as the Jafnids , were an Arabian tribe . Originally from South Arabia , they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empire , as their society merged with local Chalcedonian Christianity and was largely Hellenized . However, some of the Ghassanids may have already adhered to Christianity before they emigrated from South Arabia to escape religious persecution. As

174-628: A Byzantine vassal, the Ghassanids participated in the Byzantine–Sasanian Wars , fighting against the Sasanian -allied Lakhmids , who were also an Arabian tribe, but adhered to the non-Chalcedonian Church of the East . The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouins . After just over 400 years of existence,

261-728: A Persian nobleman (Hdt. 5.21.). Under Darius I , Macedonia was organised into a regular tax district of the Empire (Hdt. 6.44.). Their control over Macedonia is attested in the DNA inscription at Naqsh-I-Rustam. Amyntas’ son Alexander I supported Xerxes I during the Persian invasion of Greece. In 479 BC, the Achaemenid forces were defeated by the Greeks, and Macedonia was no longer considered Greek by other city-states. Another region considered

348-568: A branch of the Azd tribe of South Arabia / Yemen . In this genealogical scheme, their ancestor was Jafnah , a son of Amr Muzayqiya ibn Amir ibn Haritha ibn Imru’ al Qais ibn Tha’labah ibn Mazin ibn Azd , through whom the Ghassanids were purportedly linked with the Ansar (the Aws and Khazraj tribes of Medina ), who were the descendants of Jafna's brother Tha'laba. According to the historian Brian Ulrich ,

435-556: A buffer zone against the Lakhmids . In addition, as kings of their own people, they were also phylarchs , native rulers of client frontier states. The capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights . Geographically, it occupied much of the eastern Levant , and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib ( Medina ). The Ghassanids fought alongside

522-615: A change in foreign policy. Assyrian kings expressed their hold over vassal states through the collection of flora and fauna from these regions. The earliest records of this practice date back to Tiglath-Pileser I (1114 BC – 1076 BC) in the Middle Assyrian Period. It was revived by Ashurnasirpal in the Neo-Assyrian Period by creating a garden with specimens from across the empire. Later Neo-Assyrian rulers would expand on this practice; Sargon II created

609-704: A chosen successor amid the Second Muslim Civil War in 684, Umayyad rule was on the verge of collapse in Syria, having already collapsed throughout the caliphate, where the supporters of a rival caliph, the Mecca -based Ibn al-Zubayr , took charge. The Ghassan, along with their tribal allies in Syria, especially the Kalb, supported continued Umayyad rule to secure their interests under the dynasty, and nominated Mu'awiya's distant cousin, Marwan I , as caliph during

696-665: A dependent "vassal state"; Owen N. Denny argued that Korea was an independent "tributary state". William W. Rockhill said that calling Korea a vassal state was "misleading". According to Rockhill: "The tribute sent to Peking by all the 'vassal states,' and also by the Tibetans, and the Aboriginal tribes of Western China, is solely a quid pro quo for the privilege of trading with the Chinese under extraordinarily favorable conditions." Rockhill argued that Korea viewed China not as

783-415: A garden that imitated the forests of Northern Syria, while Sennacherib created a swamp that reflected the landscape of Southern Babylonia. In artistic representations, subjects of vassal states are depicted bringing tribute to Assyria. These representatives are shown bowing or crouching before the king. The gifts offered range from horses and monkeys to wineskins. These scenes of tribute and audience with

870-628: A legitimate king to the throne. In doing so, vassal rulers were guaranteed sovereignty from themselves and their successors in their region. The relations of Ugarit are the most well-known of the Hittite's vassal states. Sources on Ugarit's role and relationship with the Hittites mostly comes from the Ugarit Archives, with only a few from Hittite sources. From the sources, it is believed that Ugarit held economic and commercial importance to

957-419: A marriage between a vassal ruler and a Hatti princess of the royal family. The princess would hold greater power than other wives of the vassal, and succession would pass down her descendants. Vassal states were obliged to support and swear fealty to the king's legitimate successors as well. In the event of a usurper taking the throne, the vassal state was freed from all treaty obligations except to help restore

SECTION 10

#1732765460638

1044-441: A part of. While vassal states were necessary to the politics of the empire and connected by administrative and economic means, they are not considered to be ‘properly Assyrian’. Neo-Assyrian imperial ideology placed importance on unified diversity, and as such vassal states maintained a degree of cultural independence. While territorial expansion slowed in the 7th century BC, the amount of vassal states increased in number, suggesting

1131-566: A poem attributed to him, Marwan lauds the Ghassan, as well as the Kalb, Kinda , and Tanukh of Syria, for supporting him. The above tribes thereafter formed the Yaman faction, in opposition to the Qays tribes which backed Dahhak and Ibn al-Zubayr. The Qays–Yaman rivalry contributed to the downfall of Umayyad rule, with each faction supporting different Umayyad dynasts and governors in what became

1218-720: A seat of power in the region. Following the early Muslim conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries , the tribes of Arabia begun migrating beyond the Arabian Peninsula in large numbers into different lands and regions across the Middle and North Africa. On the eve of the Rashidun Caliphate 's conquest of the Levant , 634 AD, Syria's population mainly spoke Aramaic; Greek was the official language of administration. Arabization and Islamization of Syria began in

1305-670: A summit of the Syrian tribes in the old Ghassanid capital of Jabiyah . Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri , the governor of Damascus, meanwhile, threw his backing behind Ibn al-Zubayr. During the Battle of Marj Rahit , which pitted Marwan against Dahhak in a meadow north of Damascus, the scion of the Ghassanid family in Damascus, Yazid ibn Abi al-Nims, led a revolt there and secured control of the city for Marwan, who routed Dahhak and assumed office. In

1392-630: A suzerain but as a family head: Korea likened the Ming dynasty to a father and the Qing dynasty to an older brother. According to Rockhill: "As to the custom of submitting to the Emperor the choice made by the king of an heir to the throne, or of a consort, or informing him of the death of his mother, of his wife, etc., we can look at them as only strictly ceremonial relations, bearing with them no idea of subordination." The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923) controlled

1479-642: A trading centre. Rather, Hitttite sources place importance on the political and military role this kingdom played in the empire, as it was located on the border of Hatti territory and Egypt. Previously a vassal state of Egypt, the Kingdom defected to the Hittites under the ruler Aziru . Amurru was loyal to the Hittite Empire from the end of the Amarna Period until the reign of Muwatalli II , when they switched allegiances back to Egypt. The defection

1566-557: A vassal state rather than a satrap was Arabia . According to Herodotus, they aided Cambyses II in his invasion of Egypt (525 BC). As such, Arabia did not become a satrap and was exempt from paying annual tribute. Instead, they are attested to in the Behistun inscription and in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets as providing 1000 talents per year. In Xerxes’ invasion of Greece , Herodotus mentions

1653-734: Is closer to Iraqi Arabic . Ancient Bedouins and nomadic groups inhabited the Sinai Peninsula , located in Asia , ever since ancient times. Prior to the Muslim conquest of Egypt , Egypt was under Greek and Roman influence . Under the Umayyad Caliphate , Arabic became the official language in Egypt rather than Coptic or Greek . The caliphate also allowed the migration of Arab tribes to Egypt. The Muslim governor of Egypt encouraged

1740-421: Is thought that the skull is the most important part of the body, and the majority of Arab tribes are descended from these major tribes. They are: Vassal state List of forms of government A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among

1827-552: The Arab population . Additionally, they have played a vital role in the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and genetic Arabization of the Levant and North Africa. The general consensus among 14th-century Arab genealogists is that Arabs are of three kinds: The Hawazin tribe and the Quraysh tribe are considered ‘Adnani Arabs . Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy , so questions persist concerning

SECTION 20

#1732765460638

1914-637: The Beja people . Large numbers of Bani Rasheed are also found on the Arabian Peninsula. They are related to the Banu Abs tribe. According to Arab traditions, tribes are divided into different divisions called Arab skulls ( جماجم العرب ‎), which is a term given to a group of tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, which are described in the traditional custom of strength, abundance, victory, and honor. A number of them branched out, which later became independent tribes (sub-tribes). They are called "Skulls" because it

2001-454: The Joseon dynasty of Korea as an autonomous vassal state. The Joseon dynasty was autonomous in its internal and external affairs. It was not a colony or dependency of China. However, China abandoned its conventional laissez-faire policy of noninterference toward Korea and adopted a radical interventionist policy of interference in the late 19th century. Yuan Shikai argued that Korea was

2088-634: The Red Sea coast. At the mid to the end of the fourth century, the Himyarite Kingdom adopted Judaism, thus spreading Judaism in the region even further. The German Orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld believed that the Jews established a state in northern Hejaz. The Quran details early encounters between early Muslim tribes and Jewish tribes in major cities in western Arabia, with some clans like Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir being described as having

2175-788: The Third Muslim Civil War . The Ghassanid Shabib ibn Abi Malik was a leader of the Yaman in Damascus and conspired to assassinate the pro-Qaysi Caliph al-Walid II ( r.  743–744 ). After the latter was killed, the Ghassan marched on Damascus to help install his successor, the Yamani-backed Yazid III ( r.  744–744 ). The toppling of the Umayyads and the advent of the Iraq-based Abbasid Caliphate in 750 "was disastrous for

2262-941: The "Scattering of Azd" story, the Ghassanids eventually settled within the Roman limes . The tradition of Ghassanid migration finds support in the Geography of Ptolemy , which locates a tribe called the Kassanitai south of the Kinaidokolpitai and the river Baitios (probably the wadi Baysh ). These are probably the people called Casani in Pliny the Elder , Gasandoi in Diodorus Siculus and Kasandreis in Photios I of Constantinople (relying on older sources). The date of

2349-604: The 13th century, Carchemish was trading directly with Assyria , and had relations with Babylonia as well. Carchemish also survived the end of the Hittite Empire, and became its own city-state in the Early Iron Age . In the 8th century BC, it was annexed by the Assyrian Empire. The vassal states of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911 BC – 609 BC) had a unique relationship with the empire they became

2436-605: The 14th century BC. The relationships between the Hittites and their vassal states centered around the Hittite king and the vassal ruler; the terms of their relationship were imposed unilaterally by the former, and accepted by the latter. Whenever a new Hittite king or vassal ruler came into power, a new treaty would be drawn up. In rare cases, local rulers were given kiurwana (protectorate status). While they had distinct privileges – such as exemption from tribute – they did not have any more freedom of activity than other vassal states. All relations among

2523-628: The 2nd century CE. The Ghassanids , Lakhmids and Kindites were the last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Arabian presence in the Syria , They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern-day Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , and Jordan . Around the 4th century CE, there developed a dominant Jewish presence in pre-Islamic Arabia , with many Jewish Clans and tribes settling around

2610-423: The 6th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in other Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered proto-Arabic , but pre-classical Arabic . Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi , one of which dates to

2697-469: The 7th century BC, when they were incorporated into the proper provincial system of the empire, though they still had various degrees of political control depending on location. In Judah , there was a further increase in settlement in the 7th century that was greater than the 8th. It was the same in Jordan , showing that Neo-Assyrian control over the region was a successful period for these kingdoms. While

Ghassanids - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-530: The 7th century, and it took several centuries for Islam, the Arab identity, and language to spread; the Arabs of the caliphate did not attempt to spread their language or religion in the early periods of the conquest, and formed an isolated aristocracy. The Arabs of the caliphate accommodated many new tribes in isolated areas to avoid conflict with the locals; caliph Uthman ordered his governor, Muawiyah I , to settle

2871-640: The Abbasid dynasts, an Umayyad, Abu al-Umaytir al-Sufyani , took power in Syria in 811, in a bid to reestablish the Umayyad Caliphate. Abu Mushir, whose grandfather was killed by the Abbasids in 750, disdained the Iraqis represented by the Abbasids and supported the restoration of Umayyad rule. He served as Abu al-Umaytir's qadi (chief jurist), but was imprisoned by the Abbasids in the years following

2958-588: The Adnanites are descendants of Abraham. Modern historiography "unveiled the lack of inner coherence of this genealogical system and demonstrated that it finds insufficient matching evidence". The tribes of Arabia were engaged in nomadic herding and agriculture by around 6,000 BCE. By about 1,200 BCE, a complex network of settlements and camps was established. Kingdoms in the southern region of Arabia began to form and flourish. The earliest Arab tribes emerged from Bedouins . A major source of income for these people

3045-514: The Amarna letters – a collection of 350 cuneiform tablets. The different ways vassal rulers communicated with the Pharaoh via grovelling and obsequiousness is a key method of extrapolating relationships between Egypt and vassal states. Egypt's key vassal states were located on the northern frontier, and included states such as Nuhašše , Qatna , and Ugarit . These were located on the fringes of

3132-655: The Arab tribes settled in Mauritania. The Arab descendants of the original Arabian settlers who continue to speak Arabic as a first language currently form the single largest population group in North Africa. In the 12th century, the Arab Ja'alin tribe migrated into Nubia and Sudan and formerly occupied the country on both banks of the Nile from Khartoum to Abu Hamad . They trace their lineage to Abbas , uncle of

3219-454: The Arabian Peninsula. However, with the spread of Islam , they started migrating and settling in various regions, including the Levant , Mesopotamia , Egypt , Sudan , the Maghreb , and Khuzestan . These areas collectively form what is known as the Arab world , excluding Khuzestan. Arab tribes have significantly influenced demographic shifts in this region, leading to the growth of

3306-599: The Arabians among the different sections of the Persian Army as being led by Arsamenes – the son of Darius I. Despite the size of the Achaemenid Empire, there was efficient communication and connectivity between different regions. The Royal Road which ran through most of the empire allowed for the movement and sharing of goods, culture, and ideas between the Achaemenid satraps and vassal states. From

3393-437: The Arabs on the eastern fringes of Syria, as evidenced by a spread of urbanization and the sponsorship of several churches, monasteries and other buildings. The surviving descriptions of the Ghassanid courts impart an image of luxury and an active cultural life, with patronage of the arts, music and especially Arab-language poetry. In the words of Ball, "the Ghassanid courts were the most important centres for Arabic poetry before

3480-668: The Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sasanians and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also continually acted as a buffer zone, protecting Byzantine lands against raids by Bedouin tribes. Among their Arab allies were the Banu Judham and Banu Amilah . The Byzantines were focused more on the East and a long war with the Sasanians was always their main concern. The Ghassanids maintained their rule as

3567-527: The Byzantine Empire being related. The Rasulid Sultans ruled from the 13th until the 15th century in Yemen, while the Burji Mamluk Sultans did likewise in Egypt from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The last rulers to claim the titles of Royal Ghassanid successors were the Christian Sheikhs Al-Chemor in Mount Lebanon ruling the small sovereign principality of Akoura (from 1211 until 1641) and Zgharta-Zwaiya (from 1643 until 1747) from Lebanon . Tribes of Arabia Historically, Arab tribes have inhabited

Ghassanids - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-435: The Byzantines, especially against their enemies the Lakhmids, and secured Byzantium's southern flank and its political and commercial interests in Arabia proper. On the other hand, the Ghassanids remained fervently dedicated to Miaphysitism , which brought about their break with Byzantium and Mundhir's own downfall and exile, which was followed after 586 by the dissolution of the Ghassanid federation. The Ghassanids' patronage of

3741-403: The Damascene elite into the mid-9th century. Abu Mushir's grandfather, Abd al-A'la, was a hadith scholar and Abu Mushir studied under the famous Syrian scholar Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Tanukhi. He became a prominent hadith scholar in Damascus, with special interest in the administrative history of Syria, its local elite's genealogies and local scholars. During the Fourth Muslim Civil War between

3828-425: The Early Iron Age, Byblos no longer had connections to any great powers in the region. While the city still had religious authority until the Roman Empire , it had long lost its economic and political importance. The Hittite Empire incorporated vassal states that extended over much of Anatolia and Northern Syria. The addition of vassal states reached its peak under the reigns of Šuppiluliuma I and Muršili II in

3915-450: The Ghassan of Syria. The last phylarch of the Ghassan, Jabala ibn al-Ayham , stories of whom are shrouded in legend, led his tribesmen and those of Byzantium's other allied Arab tribes in the Byzantine army that was routed by the Muslims at the Battle of Yarmouk in c.  636 . After supposedly embracing Islam, Jabala left the faith and ultimately withdrew with his tribesmen from Syria to Byzantine-held Anatolia in 639, by which time

4002-408: The Ghassanid kingdom fell to the Rashidun Caliphate during the Muslim conquest of the Levant . A few of the tribe's members then converted to Islam , while most dispersed themselves amongst Melkites and Syriacs in what is now Jordan , Israel , Syria , Palestine , and Lebanon . In the Arab genealogical tradition which developed during the early Islamic period, the Ghassanids were considered

4089-400: The Gulf, involved movements of Arabs from eastern Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States into the Hormozgan and Fars provinces after the 16th century. These include Sunni Huwala and Achomi people , who compromise of both fully Arab and mixed Arab-Persian families. The Arabs on the Iranian side of the Gulf tend to speak a dialect much closer to Gulf Arabic opposed to the Khuzestani Arabic which

4176-455: The Hittite Empire, as many letters and documents relate to trade. Ugarit also maintained a relationship with Egypt, due to contacts with the Pharaoh's court. Most evidence of this contact comes from the era of the Pax Hethitica, which came after peace between Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Amurru's relationship to the Hittite Empire is attested to in documents recovered from Ugarit and Hattusa . Unlike Ugarit, Amurru does not appear to have been

4263-454: The Hittite Empire. In 1258 BC, Ramesses and the Hittite King Ḫattušili III signed a peace treaty that created a border from north of Byblos to Damascus between the two empires. The Kingdom of Byblos was significant in linking the worlds of Egypt, the Near East and the Aegean to one another. It is first attested during the reign of Thutmose III. Through Byblos, the Egyptians had access to products from Lebanon and Syria, while also using

4350-421: The Islamic empire in general. Significant remnants of the Ghassan remained in Syria, residing in Damascus and the city's Ghouta countryside. At least nominally and probably gradually, many of these Ghassanids embraced Islam, especially under Mu'awiya's rule. According to the historian Nancy Khalek, they consequently became an "indispensable" group of Muslim society in early Islamic Syria. Mu'awiya actively sought

4437-509: The Islamic prophet Muhammad . They are of Arab origin, but now of mixed blood mostly with Nilo-Saharans and Nubians . Other Arab tribes migrated into Sudan in the 12th century and intermarried with the indigenous populations, forming the Sudanese Arabs . In 1846, many Arab Rashaida migrated from Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia into what is now Eritrea and north-east Sudan after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland. The Rashaida of Sudan and Eritrea live in close proximity with

SECTION 50

#1732765460638

4524-464: The Lakhmids of al-Hirah in Lower Mesopotamia , prospered economically and engaged in much religious and public building; they also patronized the arts and at one time entertained the Arab poets al-Nabighah and Hassan ibn Thabit at their courts. The nascent Muslim state in Medina , first under the Islamic prophet Muhammad (d. 632) and lastly under the second caliph , Umar ( r.  634–644 ), made abortive attempts to contact or win over

4611-438: The Maghreb from the Arabian Peninsula. Arab tribes such as Banu Muzaina migrated, and the Arab Muslims in the region had more impact on the culture of the Maghreb than the region's conquerors before and after them. The major migration to the region by Arab tribes was in the 11th century when the tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym , along with others, were sent by the Fatimids to defeat a Berber rebellion and then settle in

4698-419: The Maghreb. These tribes advanced in large numbers all the way to Morocco , contributing to a more extensive ethnic, genetic, cultural, and linguistic Arabization in the region. The Arab tribes of Maqil migrated to the Maghreb a century later and even immigrated southwards to Mauritania . Beni Hassan defeated both Berbers and Black Africans in the region, pushing them southwards to the Senegal river while

4785-414: The Miaphysite Syrian Church was crucial for its survival and revival, and even its spread, through missionary activities, south into Arabia. According to the historian Warwick Ball , the Ghassanids' promotion of a simpler and more rigidly monotheistic form of Christianity in a specifically Arab context can be said to have anticipated Islam . Ghassanid rule also brought a period of considerable prosperity for

4872-400: The Muslims had conquered most of Byzantine Syria. Unable to make headway with the Ghassan, the Muslim administration in Syria under its governor Mu'awiya succeeded in allying with the Ghassan's old-established Syrian allies, the Banu Kalb . The latter became the cornerstone of Mu'awiya's military power in Syria, and later, when he became head of the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate in 661, of

4959-426: The Persians made use of satraps (appointed Persian governors) rather than vassal rulers in subject regions, there were rare cases of vassal states being utilised. Herodotus writes that negotiations took place between King Amyntas I of Macedonia and the Persians after the former's subjugation by the Achaemenids by 513 BC. The Macedonians became further connected to the Persians as Amyntas married his daughter to

5046-421: The Southern Levant by the 5th century BCE, causing the displacement of Edomites . Their inscriptions were in predominantly in Aramaic , but it's assumed their native spoken language was a variant of Old Arabic , one of many Ancient North Arabian languages , which is attested in inscriptions as early as the 1st century ,the same period in which the Nabataean alphabet slowly evolved into the Arabic script by

5133-413: The accuracy of this segment of Adnanite Arab genealogy. Adnanites are believed to be the descendants of Ishmael through Adnan but the traditional Adnanite lineage does not match the biblical line exactly. According to Arab tradition, the Adnanites are called Arabised because it is believed that Ishmael spoke Aramaic and Egyptian then learnt Arabic from a Qahtanite Yemeni woman that he married. Therefore,

5220-418: The culture and ideals of the Bedouins in the region. The second Arab tribal migration to northern Mesopotamia was in the 10th century when the Banu Numayr migrated there. After the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century, many Arab tribes settled in different parts of Iran, notably Khorasan and Ahwaz , it is the Arab tribes of Khuzestan that have retained their identity in language and culture to

5307-587: The empires of the Near East , dating back to the era of the Egyptian , Hittite , and Mitanni conflict, as well as in ancient China . The relationships between vassal rulers and empires were dependent on the policies and agreements of each empire. While the payment of tribute and military service was common amongst vassal states, the degree of independence and benefits given to vassal states varied. Today, more common terms are puppet state , protectorate , client state , associated state , or satellite state . The reign of Thutmose III (1479 BC – 1425 BC) laid

SECTION 60

#1732765460638

5394-444: The foundations for the systems that functioned during the Amarna period of Egypt . Vassal states in the Levant became fully integrated in Egypt's economy with the construction of harbours – allowing for greater communication and collection of tax between Egypt and its vassal states during this period. Much of what is known about Egypt's vassal states from the reigns of Amenhotep III and Tutankhamun (1390 BC – 1323 BC) stems from

5481-407: The guardian of trade routes, policed Lakhmid tribes and was a source of troops for the imperial army. The Ghassanid king al-Harith ibn Jabalah (reigned 529–569) supported the Byzantines against the Sasanians and was given in 529 by the emperor Justinian I , the highest imperial title that was ever bestowed upon a foreign ruler; also the status of patricians. In addition to that, al-Harith ibn Jabalah

5568-415: The king express how vassal states participated in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. By the 8th century BC, the southern vassal states of the empire saw an increase in settlement. In comparison to the northern regions of the empire – which were previously devastated – these kingdoms become denser and the more prosperous parts of the empire. The kingdoms west of the Euphrates river were considered vassal states until

5655-488: The kingdom as a base for military activity. Byblos held religious importance to Egypt, as the local goddess appeared in the form of Hathor , and was associated with Isis . Byblos was also valuable for Egypt as a trade partner, as it allowed the latter to interact with the regional trade connections between Byblos and other small cities. Byblos seemed to have a large amount of influence itself. Rib-Hadda's letters indicate that Byblos had control over its own territory, until it

5742-422: The links between Ghassan, the Ansar, and the wider Azd are historically tenuous, as these groups are almost always counted separately from each other in sources other than post-8th-century genealogical works and the story of the 'Scattering of Azd'. In the latter story, the Azd migrate northward from Yemen and different groups of the tribe split off in different directions, with the Ghassan being one such group. Per

5829-433: The migration of tribes from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt to strengthen his regime by enlisting warrior tribesmen to his forces, encouraging them to bring their families and entire clans. The Fatimid era was the peak of Bedouin Arab tribal migrations to Egypt. The first wave of Arab immigration to the Maghreb began with the conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century, with the migration of sedentary and nomadic Arabs to

5916-438: The migration to the Levant is unclear, but they are believed to have first arrived in the region of Syria between 250 and 300, with later waves of migration circa 400. Their earliest appearance in records is dated to 473, when their chief, Amorkesos, signed a treaty with the Byzantine Empire acknowledging their status as foederati controlling parts of Palestine . He apparently became a Chalcedonian Christian at this time. By

6003-516: The militarily and administratively experienced Syrian Christians, including the Ghassanids, and members of the tribe served him and later Umayyad caliphs as governors, commanders of the shurta (select troops), scribes, and chamberlains. Several descendants of the tribe's Tha'laba and Imru al-Qays branches are listed in the sources as Umayyad court poets, jurists, and officials in the eastern provinces of Khurasan , Adharbayjan and Armenia . When Mu'awiya's grandson, Caliph Mu'awiya II , died without

6090-436: The new tribes away from the original population. Syrians who belonged to Monophysitic denominations welcomed the peninsular Arabs as liberators. The migration of Arab tribes to Mesopotamia began in the seventh century, and by the late 20th century constituted about three quarters of the population of Iraq . A large Arab migration to Mesopotamia followed the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia in 634, which saw an increase in

6177-523: The power, wealth and status of the Arab tribes in Syria", including the Ghassan, according to the historian Hugh N. Kennedy . By the 9th century, the tribe had adopted a settled life, being recorded by the geographer al-Ya'qubi (d. 890) to be living in the Ghouta gardens region of Damascus and in Gharandal in Transjordan . Two Damascene Ghassanid families in particular achieved prominence in early Islamic Syria, those of Yahya ibn Yahya al-Ghassani (d. 750s) and Abu Mushir al-Ghassani (d. 833). The former

6264-695: The present day while other Arabs especially in Khorasan were slowly Persianised. Khorasani Arabs were mainly contingent from Nejdi tribes such as Banu Tamim . There was a great influx of Arab tribes into Khuzestan from the 16th to the 19th century, including the migration of the Banu Ka'b and Banu Lam from the Arabian desert . Tribalism is a significant characteristic of Arab population in Khuzestan. Subsequent Arab migrations into Iran, primarily across

6351-426: The purpose of ensuring the loyalty of these distant vassal states. However, these vassal states were claimed by the Hittite Empire following the death of Akhenaten (1353 BC – 1336 BC) and were never reclaimed. Under Ramesses II (1279 BC – 1213 BC), Egypt engaged in several military campaigns against the Hittites, eventually capturing the kingdoms of Kadesh and Amurru by taking advantage of growing problems in

6438-476: The rebellion's suppression in 813. His great-grandsons Abd al-Rabb ibn Muhammad and Amr ibn Abd al-A'la also attained fame as Damascene scholars. Medieval Arabic authors used the term Jafnids for the Ghassanids, a term modern scholars prefer at least for the ruling stratum of Ghassanid society. Earlier kings are traditional, actual dates highly uncertain. The Ghassanids reached their peak under al-Harith V and al-Mundhir III. Both were militarily successful allies of

6525-491: The region. While Carchemish was a leading power in Syria and delegate for Syrian affairs, not much is known about their interactions with the Great Powers of the region. What is known comes from archives at Hattusa, Emar , and Ugarit. When the city was conquered by Suppiluliuma I, he installed his son on the throne Due to this, the later kings of Carchemish acted as representatives for the Hittite Empire in Syria. In

6612-520: The regions under Hittite control were strictly determined by the king. While this led to the belief that contact between vassal states was limited, it has also been thought that such restrictions were limited to the enemies of the Hatti. The treaties imposed on vassal states came with military obligations, though vassals were also promised military assistance in return. Some treaties also contained details of annual tribute. Treaties were often concluded with

6699-639: The rise of the Caliphal courts under Islam", and their court culture, including their penchant for desert palaces like Qasr ibn Wardan , provided the model for the Umayyad caliphs and their court. After the fall of the first kingdom in the 7th century, several dynasties, both Christian and Muslim, ruled claiming to be a continuation of the House of Ghassan. Besides the claim of the Phocid or Nikephorian Dynasty of

6786-677: The territory claimed by Egypt and were a potential threat from acting with the Hittites in Anatolia , or the Mitanni in Iraq and Syria . Due to these vassal states’ distance from the Nile , and their value as a buffer zone from rival kingdoms, these states appeared to have a more high-status relationship with the Pharaoh and Egypt. These states could also solicit the Pharaoh for various requests. The fulfilment of these asks by Egypt may have served

6873-658: The time of the Zhou dynasty (1046–770 BC) until the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), a varying number of vassal states existed in Ancient China. These ranged in size from small city states to vassals which controlled large swathes of territory such as the states of Chu and Qi . One of these vassal states would go on to conquer China and unite the country under the first emperor Qin Shi Huang . The Qing dynasty of China viewed

6960-604: The transmissions from Muhammad's Damascus-based companion, Abu Darda . Among some traditions sourced to Yahya ibn Yahya by later Muslim scholars are those regarding the discovery of John the Baptist 's head in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus and others which praise the mosque's splendor and the Umayyad dynasty in general. Yahya ibn Yahya's sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons continued their ancestor's interests in hadith scholarship and remained part of

7047-399: The year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Miaphysites , but Chalcedonian. The "Assanite Saracen" chief Podosaces that fought alongside the Sasanians during Julian's Persian expedition in 363 might have been a Ghassanid. After originally settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Byzantine Empire . The Romans found a powerful ally in the Ghassanids who acted as

7134-608: Was eventually exiled from his own kingdom by his brother. While Rib-Hadda's brother was on the throne, Byblos continued to communicate with the Egyptians, although there is some contention over potential alliances between Byblos and Amurru and the Hittite Empire as well. Interactions between Byblos and Egypt declined in the 12th and 11th centuries BC with the fall of the New Kingdom . Following Egypt's resurgence, kingdoms such as Tyre and Sidon were favoured over Byblos. By

7221-527: Was given the rule over all the Arab allies of the Byzantine Empire. Al-Harith was a Miaphysite Christian; he helped to revive the Syrian Miaphysite (Jacobite) Church and supported Miaphysite development despite Orthodox Byzantium regarding it as heretical . Later Byzantine mistrust and persecution of such religious unorthodoxy brought down his successors, Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith (reigned 569–582). The Ghassanids, who had successfully opposed

7308-424: Was punished with a temporary replacement of the king with a more loyal ruler. Two marriages occurred between Hittites and Amurru royalty at this time, raising Amurru's importance within the empire. Amurru's relationship with the Hittite Empire was maintained until the collapse of the latter in the 12th century BC. A shift from Semitic names used by descendants of Aziru suggest a lasting impact of Hittite influence in

7395-523: Was taken in conflict with Amurru. Correspondence with the Kingdom of Byblos is well documented, as the longest interaction between Egypt and a vassal state and spanned a period of 12 years. The subject king in these letters – Rib-Hadda – is unique among vassal rulers as his letters are more verbose than other small rulers in the Near East. Despite his loyalty to the Pharaoh, Rib-Hadda never received any meaningful reply from Egypt during times of need and

7482-495: Was the son of Caliph Marwan's head of the shurta , Yahya ibn Qays. Upon returning to Damascus after his stint as a governor of Mosul for the Umayyad caliph Umar II ( r.  717–720 ), Yahya ibn Yahya took up scholarship and became known as the sayyid ahl Dimashq (leader of the people of Damascus), transmitting purported hadiths (traditions and utterances) of Muhammad, which he derived from his uncle Sulayman, who received

7569-402: Was the taxation of caravans, as well as tributes collected from non-Bedouin settlements. They also earned income by transporting goods and people in caravans pulled by domesticated camels across the desert. Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land required them to move constantly. The Nabataeans and Qedarites were Arabian tribes on the edges of the fertile Crescent who expanded into

#637362